[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Plugins for non-free software in orig.tar.gz



On Sat, 3 Jul 2010 10:49:30 +0200 Francesco Poli wrote:

> On Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:49:55 +0200 Josselin Mouette wrote:
> 
> > Le jeudi 01 juillet 2010 à 00:40 +0200, Manuel A. Fernandez Montecelo a
> > écrit :
[...]
> > > $ head -7 shaders/surface/metal.sl 
> > > /* metal.sl - Standard metal surface for RenderMan Interface.
> > >  * (c) Copyright 1988, Pixar.
> > >  *
> > >  * The RenderMan (R) Interface Procedures and RIB Protocol are:
> > >  *     Copyright 1988, 1989, Pixar.  All rights reserved.
> > >  * RenderMan (R) is a registered trademark of Pixar.
> > >  */
> > > 
> > > I tried to find the answers in Pixar's website, but I found none.  I think 
> > > that it's a kind of OpenGL, but I don't know if things like "All rights 
> > > reserved" means that they can forbid people using them, like the (already 
> > > several) FOSS implementations (aqsis, pixie, jrman).
> > 
> > This looks much more worrisome to me. There is no license for use or
> > redistribution here. I’m surprised the FTP masters let this slip
> > through.
> 
> I am surprised too.
> Above all, I am surprised that we seem to be first ones to notice this
> issue, which allegedly affects several rendering tools...

I wonder whether those "shaders" should be considered as purely
functional in nature, and thus not copyrightable: I seem to recall that
there's U.S. case law about a functionality exception to copyright
protection, and the following was stated:

| <pgregory> not much we can do about that, if we dont' ship them we're not 
| compliant.

which seems to suggest that those "shaders" are necessary to comply to
a software standard (namely, the RenderMan interface standard defined
by Pixar Animation Studios).

Maybe a lawyer should be consulted about this issue...


-- 
 http://www.inventati.org/frx/progs/scripts/pdebuild-hooks.html
 Need some pdebuild hook scripts?
..................................................... Francesco Poli .
 GnuPG key fpr == C979 F34B 27CE 5CD8 DC12  31B5 78F4 279B DD6D FCF4

Attachment: pgpRyqbL6o225.pgp
Description: PGP signature


Reply to: